Peru Woos Bolivia Over Gas Pipeline

Updated Nov. 15, 2002 2:38 p.m. ET

Peruvian officials are increasing efforts to convince Bolivian authorities to choose Peru as the route for a natural gas pipeline, said Peruvian Energy and Mines Minister Jaime Quijandria, adding that a mission from Bolivia was expected to arrive shortly in Peru. Bolivian President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada was quoted recently as saying that the pipeline project might not be viable if it went through Peru instead of Chile. The route through Peru, however, is seen as more politically popular, since landlocked Bolivia still claims Chile's access to the Pacific Ocean that was lost during their war in 1879. Peru and...